The Eric Apperly Shield has reached the half-way mark of the round robin series, and the battle for first place in every pool looks like it is going to go down to the wire.
Cromer, Concord Stonecutters Ridge, and Oatlands remain undefeated in their division while Castle Hill and Pennant Hills are only separated by a half a match in their pool.
In Pool One, Castle Hill accounted for Pennant Hills at home, four games to 2, with Brandon Shong, a big 7&6 winner for the Northern team. Sam Nashaar Jessie McNaughton also recorded 5&4 wins for Castle Hill to ensure they finished the day 1/2 match in front of Pennant Hills at the top of the pool.
The Lakes haven’t given up hope of the pool win after they walloped St. Michael’s 5 1/.2 to 1/2. Josh Speechley won 9&8, while former Cabramatta pennant player Cameron Glenday beat Harrison Crowe 4/3.
Monash had their first win of the year defeating Avondale 4 1/2 to 1 1/2. Ryan Garay was the best for the Collaroy Plateau side, winning 3&2.
Concord have continued their outstanding run in this year’s shield with a 5 1/2 to 1/2 win over Liverpool. Blade Gadd, Oliver Payne and Mitchell Norbis were the big winners.
Manly beat neighbours Long Reef 4 1/2 to 1 1/2. Tyson Holmes led the way with a 5&4 win, while Finlay Bellingham also won well, with a 4&2 result.
Pymble beat NSW at NSW in a tight tussle 3 1/2 to 2 1/2. Joseph Coles, James Conran and Corey Jones kept the current Pennant holders in with a slim of defending their title.
Bonnie Doon defeated Bankstown at Bankstown 4 to 2, with Jeremy Fuchs and Andrew Cinelli 6&5 winners.
Oatlands kept to the top off the pool after defeating the Australian 3 1/2 to 2 1/2. Brad Doherty and Joseph El-Badawi winning 2&1 and 3&2 for the Western Sydney sides third straight win of the year.
Cronulla Beat North Ryde in the final pool game, with Brock Speechless, Thomas Wilson and Mathew Frith all posting respectable wins for Cronulla.
Cromer made it three from three by defeating Antill Park at home 5 to 1. Corey Fairchild was the Peninsula sides biggest winner, with a 7&5 result in a lop sided affair.
Stonecutters Ridge crushed Killara 6/ nil with Mark Hancock and Raymond Costello the standouts in the one-sided affair.
Woolooware and Cumberland battled it out for a 3/all draw. Liam Duff for Cumberland and Jared Brown for Woolooware both recorded 4&3 wins.